Introduction

There is a lot of concern about water-related issues in Colorado and the West and how we are going to deal with them in the future. The Colorado Water Plan talks about different issues and strategies related to this, and suggests that if water users started talking with each other a little more and working together a little bit better, we might be able to develop some unique local solutions that everyone can agree on that helps solve our water issues while also benefitting all of us in the long run (e.g. instead of irrigators only talking to irrigators, recreationists off doing their own thing, city water users not understanding the impacts of overwatering lawns and cars in the middle of a drought, etc).

The Colorado Water Plan has set a goal of getting 80% of the rivers across the state to put together what they are calling a Stream Management Plan, which basically involves gathering all of the interested stakeholders from our watershed, finding out what everyone’s issues and needs and concerns are related to the river and watershed, making a big wish list of everything we would like to see happen on the river and in the watershed from all of these different perspectives, and then seeing how many of these things we might be able to get done if we are willing to work together a little better and maybe employ a little more creativity, particularly as it relates to water use and community and watershed health. So, we thought we’d like to try this out for the Purgatoire River watershed and see how it goes!

This effort is being led locally by the Purgatoire Watershed Partnership in collaboration with the Spanish Peaks-Purgatoire River Conservation District.

Stream Management Plans are locally driven, so the plan will be based on input from local stakeholders. This is why it is so important that we get your input!

Please fill out the following survey to share with us your needs and concerns related to the river and the watershed. We want to know what you would like to see fixed, changed, and/or protected along the Purgatoire River and around the watershed. It doesn't matter how close you live to the river - what matters is that you have a voice in this process! 

This survey is the first step in developing a Stream Management Plan for the Purgatoire Watershed. This effort is being led locally by the Purgatoire Watershed Partnership in collaboration with the Spanish Peaks-Purgatoire River Conservation District. Stream Management Plans are locally driven, so the plan will be based on input from local stakeholders. This is why it is so important that we get your input!

In this survey...
We want to hear about things you want to see fixed, changed, or improved:
- Around the watershed
- In and along the river near where you live, work or play
- On your own property

Related to the following topics:
- Key topics of interest to you
- Other key topics we need your feedback on (some may not be relevant or of interest to you, but we'd like your feedback on as many of these topics as you are willing to address!)
1) Ecological Health of the River
2) Farming & Ranching
3) Municipal & Industrial
4) Recreation
5) Hunting
6) Forest Health
7) Drought Resiliency
8) Economic Sustainability
9) Also – Current Successful Efforts that You Want to See Continue - are there programs or activities or other good things that are already happening around the watershed that you want to make sure keep happening?


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